Tournament rules

How to sign up and withdraw

Sign in, open a tournament while its sign-up is open, press «Sign up» and confirm. Until the start you can withdraw, and your place goes to someone else. A tournament may be for club members only, may limit guest places or have none, may have a rating cap; guests may be let in a little later than members. You can play in one tournament at a time. If too few players have signed up by the start, the tournament is canceled; when the last place is taken, it starts at once.

Reserve

Once the tournament has started, you can join the reserve. If a player does not come to his first-round game, the first player in the reserve takes his place, together with his points. After the first round there are no substitutes.

Who plays whom

• Swiss: in the first round the stronger half by rating meets the weaker half; after that players with equal points meet, and, where possible, nobody plays the same opponent twice. With an odd number of players one gets a bye — a win without a game, never twice to the same player while others have not had one.
• Round robin: everyone plays everyone. With an odd number of players one rests each round and gets a win. If a player leaves, his remaining opponents get wins.
• Elimination: the loser is out. If the number of players is not a power of two, the highest-rated go straight to the second round. A draw decides nothing — the same pair plays again with colours swapped.

No-show and forfeit

When the round is paired, sit down at your table. A player who has not come within the time on the tournament card («No-show means a loss after») loses without a game. If neither player came, it is a draw; in elimination the one absent longer loses. Leaving a tournament after the start loses the current game, and you are not paired again.

Disconnects

If you lose connection, the game is adjourned and goes on by itself once both players are back. The one who does not return in time loses. Each disconnect counts: the tournament allows only a few (usually the third one loses the game).

Places and tie-breaks

Places go by points: a win is 1, a draw ½. Equal points are split, in this order, by head-to-head results among the tied players, by Buchholz — the sum of your opponents' points, by progress — the sum of your running totals after each round, and then by rating.